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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND POLICY SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF BATH CLAVERTON DOWN BATH BA2 7AY UNITED KINGDOM EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.bath.ac.uk/cdas May 2014 In this issue: Page News from CDAS, University of Bath CDAS Conference, ‘Social Death’ 2 Dying Matters Week a great success 2 CDAS welcomes a new member of staff 3 Death & Dying in the Media, Print and Internet ‘Grave Expectations’ – CDAS radio documentary 3 ‘I see Dead People’ 3 Events, seminars, symposia and conferences Tours by day and night, Arnos Vale Cemetery 4 BxNU Symposium, Cloudscape 5 DNACPR orders; current practice and problems – and a possible solution 5 Rituals for Our Lives - A Rites of Passage Autumn School 6 Call for papers Taboo II Conference 6 Making Sense of Dying and Death 8 Jobs and study opportunities Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Sociology, University of Bath 9 Marie Curie Incoming Fellowships 2014, University of Bath 9 Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate in Childhood Bereavement 10 Events calendar 10 News from CDAS CDAS Conference: Social Death 07-08 June 2014 Bath Royal Scientific and Literary Institution, Bath Social death can refer to the extinction of an individual’s social or legal identity/agency, either before or sometime after physical death, and may be self or other inflicted; it can also refer to the death of a social group or culture. Before physical death, it can mean being treated as a thing or commodity, disintegration of social networks, extreme isolation, or forced removal of individuals/groups from their group/land of origin/belonging. After physical death, the deceased’s social identity and even possibly agency can be kept alive in a number of ways. The term ‘social death’, often meaning rather different things, has been developed independently by researchers in a range of fields, including gerontology, dementia, psychology and death studies, but also mental health, the history of slavery, and genocide studies. The conference papers apply the concept of social death to a range of human situations. We hope over the weekend to find out how useful the concept is: what, if anything, does it add to existing concepts such as stigma or disenfranchisement? Does it illuminate post-mortem identities? Does it sharpen questions of policy? If social (unlike physical) death can be partial or reversible, is ‘social death’ the right term? We look forward to two intellectually stimulating days! Each CDAS conference is tightly focused on a theme, so typically half the delegates have never been before. The conference is small and friendly and great for networking, everyone is welcome whether you are giving a paper or not. Places are still available for the weekend, or you can just come along to a single day. Further details of the conference, a link to the booking site and a draft programme are all available on our website: http://www.bath.ac.uk/cdas/events/news_0010.html Dying Matters Week a great success Renske Visser, PhD student at the University of Bath For Dying Matters Week 2014, I collaborated with the Centre of Death and Society (CDAS) to organise some events. What started out with the idea that we should do ‘something’ ended up as a week filled with happenings both at the University of Bath and in the City. For two days we had a stand at the University where both students and staff wrote down their wishes, picked their favourite funeral song and took a ‘selfie’ with our cardboard coffin. We arranged a funeral workshop, led by independent funeral celebrant Su Chard; the ‘Bread, Print and Roses’ collective offered a ‘death walk’ around Bath to places related to death and dying; and we held two panels with a wide range of experts to which people could ask ‘anything they had ever wanted to about death, but didn’t know who or how to ask’. Since talking about personal death is a difficult issue, we were 2 www.bath.ac.uk/cdas [email protected] anxious to see whether people would show up for our events, but looking back I can say the week has been rather a success! You can listen again to a radio documentary we co- produced for the week with the University of Bath student radio station 1449AMURB, ‘Grave Expectations’ http://www.mixcloud.com/1449amurb/urb-documentary-grave- expectations/ CDAS welcomes a new member of staff CDAS are pleased to welcome Amy Brickhill to the team this May. Amy will be working with Dr Christine Valentine, Lorna Templeton and a team of others from the Universities of Bath and Stirling, on a 3 year ESRC funded qualitative research study which will consider the experiences and needs of family members affected by the substance misuse related bereavement of a relative. Amy is a full time Research Support Administrator for the Department of Social and Policy Sciences and will be supporting specific projects which have built in administrative support to their budgets across the department. Death & Dying in the Media, Print and Internet ‘Grave Expectations’ – CDAS radio documentary Members of the Centre for Death & Society have appeared on the Students’ Union campus radio station 1449AMURB to discuss their work as part of the national Dying Matters Awareness Week. Members, associates and PhD students of the centre took part in the broadcast entitled, Grave Expectations, led by PhD student Renske Visser. Discussions covered include: Tony Walter - how he became interested in researching death and dying Su Chard (MSc student and independent funeral celebrant ) - the emerging trends in funeral arrangements Kate Woodthorpe - funeral poverty Jana Kralova - social death John Troyer - future death Wendy Moncur - digital death All six nominated the music they would like played at their funeral and URB students have contributed their thoughts to the remainder of the playlist. You can listen again to the programme online at 1449AMURB. ‘I see Dead People’ Each year the University of Bath hold an ‘images of research’ competition which asks academics to encapsulate their research in a single image and accompanying narrative. 3 www.bath.ac.uk/cdas [email protected] This year CDAS’ John Troyer has won the category for ‘best narrative’ for his image, which shows a neon ‘day of the dead’ skull in a tattoo parlour in Austin, Texas, USA where he was taking part in a South by South-West Technology Conference. His narrative highlights the importance of talking about death and dying, how people are usually keen to explore the subject once they it is introduced, and introduces innovative ways in which to do this, including the use of technology. The images are currently being exhibited as part of the Fringe Arts Bath Festival (FAB14) and can be seen at 35-36 Stall Street, Bath until 8th June where the public are being encouraged to vote for their favourite. View all the images of research 2014 More on the Fringe Arts Bath exhibition, Bath Chronicle, 23rd May 2014 Events, seminars, symposia and conferences Tours by day and night – Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol Explore 45 acres of rich heritage and diverse wildlife on your doorstep with a tour of Arnos Vale Cemetery this summer – at least one tour running each week! There’s something for everyone, from after-dark Crypt trips, new accessible tours, family walks and unique events for BIG Green Week. Weekend Tours Most Saturdays, 1.30pm - £5.00 per person Our rolling programme of seasonal tours offers a rich menu of heritage and wildlife tours which changes weekly. If time is short, take a whistle-stop Taster Tour introducing Arnos Vale’s history and varied landscape Accessible Tours Selected Saturdays, 1.30pm - £5.00 per person Due to its historic nature Arnos Vale is not a fully accessible site. It contains uneven paths, steep slopes and steps which can prove a challenge to some visitors, which is why we now offer two accessible tours on selected dates through the summer. After-hours Tours Selected Friday evenings (times vary) - £8.40 per person Start your weekend with a relaxed Summer Evening exploration of Arnos Vale introducing beautiful vistas, interesting people and hidden paths. Join a dusk-to-dask adventure Bat Walk in search of these amazing nocturnal creatures, explore the graves, folk customs and Victorian funeral etiquette in a Night at the Cemetery - includes a trip to the Crypt. School Holiday Tours especially for kids and families May and July School Holidays - £ Tickets vary 4 www.bath.ac.uk/cdas [email protected] Find out more at www.arnosvale.org.uk/public-guided-tours-listings BxNU Symposium: Cloudscape 06 June 2014, 10.30-20.30 BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead In response to Lorna Simpson's relationship with memory, trauma and the body, this symposium will bring together eminent practitioners, artists and theoreticians in this field. Emerging from the research, practice and interests of three artists based at Northumbria University: Jane Arnfield, Christine Borland, and Sandra Johnston, and working with GemArts, a leading diversity arts organisation based in the North East, the symposium connects disciplines of visual, live and performing arts. This dynamic event will foreground new and critically acclaimed performances alongside presentations and panel discussion, interfusing live experience with critical dialogue, to consider ethical questions of representation and responsibility in histories re-told. Pre-symposium Programme: Thursday 5 June 2014 / 19:30 HeLa: Performance + Discussion On the evening before the symposium, a performance and discussion takes place at BALTIC, Gateshead. Tickets available separately or as a bundle with the symposium ticket. HeLa, written and performed by Adura Onashile takes as its inspiration the true life story of Henrietta Lacks and the extraordinary life of the HeLa cell line.